Kirsten & Andrew’s DIY Maryland Wedding at Cylburn Arboretum

This Fall Maryland wedding full of warm colors is exactly what I need right now. After yesterday’s horrible events in San Fran & Alexandria … and just everything else going on in my life, it’s always good to re-focus back on L-O-V-E.

From the photographer:

Kirsten and Andrew wanted to bring a little of the outdoors to the room where they got married. They made heir own arch using trunks and filled the room with fall colored flowers and pumpkins. They also made a gorgeous wooden ‘instagram-like’ board with pictures of themselves. During the ceremony they both watered a tree that will be planted at their house and represent their deep rooted union. It was a day full of smiles, tears, laughs and some pretty awesome dance moves.

Why we chose colors – we wanted fall-ish colors that weren’t too Halloween-y. We loosely chose mustard, Marsala, and sage, although we tried not to follow that too strictly. Also copper! There is copper in his ring and my engagement and wedding rings are rose gold, so we spray painted some elements copper as well.

We saw the venue on Facebook in a wedding my cousin was in – so happy to discover it was in Baltimore, close to much of our family, and affordable! We wanted an indoor wedding that felt outdoors, and the large wall of windows in the vollmer center was perfect for that. Our nickname for each other is “goose,” so we had geese cake toppers.

My mom did all the flowers – including the flower crown and the arch. A lot of the bridal party helped out, which was a fun pre-wedding activity! Andrews sister was a duel bridesmaid/officiant, and did such an incredible job. Everyone was laughing and crying throughout the ceremony.

One of the groomsman brewed beer, which was a huge hit! We also had friends play piano/sing a song that was at my parents and grandparents wedding. My dad and sister played guitar/sang at the reception, which was very special. We each had an aunt do a reading during the ceremony. Much of the bridal party did readings as well. Everyone in our bridal party and family helped out so much! It would not have been possible without them.

Both sets of our parents walked us in, and all 4 promised to help our new family grow. Our ceremony started with a quote from princess bride, Andrew’s family’s favorite movie. We write our own vows, promising to both screw on the toothpaste lid and try harder on the worst days. We had a sing a long during the wedding – the Beatles “in my life” – and all of our guests participated. Andrew and his best man played guitar, and the rest of the bridal party played kazoos during the organ solo. We also planted a tree during the ceremony! Promising to nurture our love and help it grow.

After the ceremony we had some time to ourself, which was very special – we had a moment to revel and enjoy the moment 10 years in the making!

The last song at the reception was bohemian rhapsody – everyone was singing a long! It was great. As everyone was heading upstairs for the send off, we had the dj play one last song for us – “married” from cabaret. I was bawling, and it’s probably my favorite part of the day :)

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